The Word

When I was a child I often wondered how far up Jesus had to ascend before he got to heaven Later I was dumbfounded when as an adult I read an astronaut rsquo s comment about not seeing any traces in space of Jesus rsquo ascension It is not that I have a clearer understanding of this mystery th

We seem to tire so easily of the ordinary in life Many of us are constantly looking for something new something exciting We want to be entertained by life and to have the latest of everything whether that means style electronic equipment or fame We are often taken in by the advertisements that

Not too many people serve grilled fish for breakfast mdash smoked maybe but not grilled But who would turn it down if Jesus was the one offering it Bread and fish Not unlike the meal he earlier served to the large crowd on the mountainside Jn 6 9-11 Both times he astonished the disciples Unf

Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday But the readings call our attention to the flock rather than the shepherd Still the character of the flock does tell us something about the one who guides and cares for it The fact for example that there are different kinds of sheep indicate

There is an old saying ldquo I rsquo m from Missouri you have to show me rdquo This does not mean that Missourians are slow to learn Rather it means that they do not easily take someone rsquo s word without some form of verification They are not unique in this Actually many of us are very

If we who profess faith in the resurrection of the body were to visit a grave and find it open and the body gone we would most likely assume that it had been taken It is no wonder that Mary of Magdala Peter and John drew the same conclusion when they arrived at Jesus rsquo tomb Dead bodies don

For months now we have been inundated with pictures of a bloodied Jesus Without in any way dismissing the concerns raised by this media event it should be pointed out that the scriptural Passion texts do not concentrate on the details of Jesus rsquo suffering In fact there are only three brief

The story of the woman taken in adultery raises several questions not the least of which is how does a person commit adultery alone The fact that only the woman was apprehended is an example of the gender bias of Jesus rsquo adversaries The compassion of Jesus toward this endangered woman is an

It may seem strange that in the middle of Lent we are told to rejoice The reason for this is not that we might have a breather from the rigors of penance How many of us are even experiencing any real rigors Rather this moment of rejoicing fittingly follows the fundamental theme found in the re

Those of us who were raised on any kind of catechism whether the pre-Vatican II Baltimore Catechism the Dutch catechism that was popular during the 1960 rsquo s and 70 rsquo s or today rsquo s Catechism of the Catholic Church were introduced to a list of characteristics or ldquo attributes rdquo